Man Convicted as Major Heroin Supplier

Feb. 21, 2022 – A 59-year-old man described as a major heroin supplier for a Memphis street gang has been convicted on two criminal conspiracy counts, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

A Criminal Court jury convicted Derrick Johnson on the felony counts of conspiracy to possess with intent to sell heroin, a controlled substance, over 150 grams. Johnson was taken into custody after his bond was revoked by Judge Glenn Wright. He faces 15 to 25 years in prison on each count when he is sentenced in March.

Johnson was arrested following an undercover investigation by the Memphis Police Department’s Organized Crime Unit. According to evidence in the trial, Johnson was one of several major suppliers of heroin for the Dixie Homes Murda Squad in 2017.

The investigation outlined the narcotics supply chain that included gang members using multiple cellphones in arranging to drop off large amounts of money at Johnson’s home on Goodland Avenue in exchange for heroin that was sometimes mixed with fentanyl.

Investigators said Johnson sometimes sold up to 500 grams – more than a pound – of heroin to the street level dealers in the gang. Another dealer and some two dozen gang members have been convicted or pled guilty in the case.

The case was handled by Asst. Dist. Atty. Chris Scruggs of the District Attorney’s Crime Strategies & Narcotics Prosecution Unit which handles cases that include gangs, violent crimes and narcotics trafficking.